After two road games to open the season, the Princeton women’s basketball team opened its home schedule with a solid win over Villanova, 70-61, at Jadwin Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
Princeton (2-1) began the evening in ceremonious fashion by unveiling yet another pair of championship banners for the Tigers’ regular season and Ivy League Tournament championships from the 2023-24 season. Returning players also were presented with championship rings prior to the start of the game.
Perhaps empowered by their new rings, the Tigers jumped out to an 8-4 lead behind a three-pointer and layup by senior center Parker Hill. Hill was active early in the game but picked up three fouls in the first half as the officials called a very tight game.
In fact, the officiating was disruptive throughout this contest, as both teams were whistled for 46 fouls, more than the combined number of field goals made in the game.
Early in the first quarter, Tabitha Amanze came off the bench for Princeton and made an immediate impact. The junior forward stole the ball from Bronagh Power-Cassidy and found Madison St. Rose for a transition layup to put the Tigers up 12-7.
Amanze also deposited two first-quarter layups before picking up two fouls, forcing Princeton coach Carla Berube to sit her for the rest of the half.
Villanova responded with a 5-0 run sparked by Maddie Webber. The sophomore guard from Bridgeville, Pa. swished a three and then scored a layup to bring the Wildcats within two.
Webber led all scorers in the contest with 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting, including 5-for-8 from beyond the arc.
The first quarter ended with Princeton clinging to a narrow 16-14 lead.
The second quarter began with back-to-back mid-range jumpers by Ashley Chea and Skye Belker to put the Tigers up six, 20-14.
Webber again responded with a trey and a jumper to pace Villanova on a 5-0 run. The half ended in a 28-28 stalemate.
In the first half, Princeton was hampered by sloppy play on both sides of the ball, committing 12 turnovers and 13 fouls. The Tigers also could not seem to establish St. Rose as an offensive threat, although the super junior hauled in a team-high five rebounds in the first half.
The Tigers took control of the contest in the third quarter. A steal by St. Rose led to a corner three by Chea to put Princeton back in front, 36-35. Another Chea trey as the shot clock expired boosted the Tigers lead to three, 40-37, with 3:15 to play in the quarter.
From there, it was the Madison St. Rose show. The junior guard drove the lane twice, drawing fouls and resulting in four made free throws. St. Rose then took a feed from Fadima Tall to the basket for the hoop and the harm to put the Tigers up 51-39 with under a minute to play in the quarter.
Princeton led 53-43 as the third frame came to an end.
In the final stanza, Villanova came out hot while Princeton looked stagnant.
Paced by freshman Jasmine Bascoe, the Wildcats went on a 10-2 run to narrow Princeton’s lead to 55-53 with 6:30 to play. In only her second collegiate game, Bascoe scored 19 points on 4-for-11 shooting and a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.
With Princeton’s lead all but evaporated, Berube called timeout to calm her team. She also reinserted Hill into the lineup with four fouls.
The tactic worked as Hill put in a layup on a nice drop pass from Chea to put the Tigers up 58-54, with 4:16 to play. Hill finished the game with 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting.
From there, it was all Princeton as Ashley Chea hit a three and two free throws to put the game away for the Tigers.
The sophomore guard from Montebello, Calif. led the Tigers with 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting, including 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. Chea was named the Player of the Game by the ESPN+ broadcast crew.
After the game, Chea explained that controlling the tempo of the game was the key to Princeton’s second-half rally.
“I think they are a super-fast team. I think they go on a lot of runs, and I think our main goal was to take control of the game to just slow down the game, [and] play at our pace,” Chea said to the ESPN+ crew.
The win for the Tigers was their second in a row over a Big East opponent and improved Princeton’s record to 2-1.
The Orange and Black will travel to New Haven to play Quinnipiac on Saturday before heading to South Orange, N.J. for a matchup against in-state rival Seton Hall on Nov. 21.
Next up for Villanova (1-1) is another Ivy foe, the Columbia Lions. That matchup will provide an early point of comparison for followers of Princeton and Columbia, the two teams expected to vie again for an Ivy League championship.